The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-06-19

'p"E mans innocent and
MRS HoPKINsoN honorable b and ,
AMI certainly was not of quality that Mr..
Wiles, at present, would have cared to ex-
pose. For, ia spite of sr. Wiles' discom-
future, he still hail enough experience Of char
actcr to know that the irate member from
Fresno would be satisfied with his own pecu-
far manner Of vindicating his own personal
integrity, and would not make public scan
Cal Of it, Again, Wiles was convinced that
Doblrs equally implicated with Cash
wiler and would be silent for his own sake.
So that poor Dobbs, = too often the fate of
simple hut weak natures, had full credit for
implicitly by every rascal in the land.
From which it may be inferred that nothing
occurred TO disturb the security of GashwileS
When the door closed upon MIR. Wiles he in
dited "A note which, with "a costly but exceed
ingly distasteful bouquet-rearranged by his
own fat fingers, and discord and incongruity
visible in every combination of color-he sent
of by IA special messenger. Then he pro
cee,ie,l to make his toilet-an operation rarely
graceful or picturesque in our sex, and an in
suit to the spectator when obesity is super
added. When he had put on "a clean shirt, Of
.
IA white waistcoat, that seemed to accent his
rotundity, he completed his attire with
black frock coat of the latest style, and sur
veyed himself complacently before a mirror.
1t is to he recorded that, however satisfactory
the result might have been to Mr.. Gashwiler.
it waSAot to the disinterested spectator.
There are some men on whom that deformed
thief, Fashion," avenges himself by making
their clothes appear perennially new. The
gloss of the tailors iron never disappears; tho
cre;ises of the shelf perpetually rise in judg-
ment against the wearer. Novelty was the
general suggestion of Mr.. Gashwilers full
.lress--it was never his habitude-and "Our
Own Make, IS MODIFY and the --latest Style,
only SIS" was patent ON the legislators
broad back as if it still retained the shop
mans ticket.
Thus arrayed, within an hour ne compla-
Gently followed the note and his floral offer
ing. The house no sought had been once the
residence of foreign ambassador, who hal
loyalty represented his government in a single
unimportant treaty, now forgotten, and i'm
various receptions and dinners, still actively
remembered by occasional visits to its salon,
now the average dreary American parlor
say, but do you know, love, in this very
room | remember meeting the distinguished
Marquis of Monte Pio;' or perhaps the fash
ionable Jones, of the state department., in
stantly crushed the decayed friend he was
perfunctorily visiting by saying: "'Pon my
soul, you here. Why, the last time | was in
this room | gossiped for an hour with the
Countess de Castenet in that very corner
For. with the recall of the aforesaid ambas-
..Cior, the mansion had become a boarding
house, kept by the wife of "a departmental
clerk
Perhaps there was nothing in the history of
he house more quaint and phiosophic than
tae story Of its present occupant Roger
Fauquier had been Experimental clerk for
forty years. 1t was ut once his practical
cool luck and His misfortune to have been
early appointed To position which required
n thorough and complete knowledge of tho
formulas and routine of department that
expended millions of the public funds. Eau
quicr, ON poor salary, diminishing instead
of increasing with his service, had seen sue
cc-sive administrations bud and blossom and
decay. but had kept his position through the
fact that his knowledge was a necessity tc
the successive chiefs and employees. Once,
it was true that be had been summarily re-
moved by a new secretary, to make room for
u camp follower, whose exhaustive and intel
icctual services in a political campaign had
made him cr.Iinently fit Tor anything; but tho
iiarming discovery that the now clerks
i.nowlesige of grammar and etymology was
even worse than that of the secretary himself,
and that. through ignorance of detail, the
business of that department was retarded to
n damage To the government of over half
million of dollars. led to the reinstatement of
Mr. Fauquier-at a lower salary For it was
felt that something was wrong somewhere.
and ;ts it had always been tho custom of con
gross and the administration 10 cut down sal
aries rs the first step To reform, they made old
lr. Fanquier a moral example. y gentle
man horn, 0f somewhat expensive tastes,
having lived up to his former salary, this
change brought another bread-winner into
thu field, Mr.. Fauquier. who tried, more or
less unsuccessfully, To turn her old southern
habits Of hospitality TO remunerative account.
But as poor Fauquier could never he pre-
vailed UPON TO present n bill to n gentleman,
sir, and as some of the scions of the best
southern families We're still waiting for, or
had been recently dismissed from, position,
the experiment was n pecuniary Failure. Vet
the honse was of excellent repute and well
patronized: indeed. it was worth something To
sec old Fauquier sitting ut the head of his own
table. in something OF his ancestral style, re-
lating anecdotes of great men now dead and
gone, interrupted only by occasional visits
from importunate tradesmen.
Prominent among what Mr.. Fauquiei
called his little family" was a black-eyed
lady of great powers of fascination, and CON
siderable local reputation rs flirt. Never
thelcss, these social alterations were
amply conloned by facile and COM
placent husband, who looked with
lenient and even aaimiring eye upon the
little lady : amusement, and, To n certain ex-
tent, lent "a tacit Endorsement to her conduct.
Nobody mi ded Hopkinson; in the blaze of
Mrs. Hopkinsons destinations he WAS COM
pietely lost sight of. \ few married. women
with unduly sensitive husbands, and several
single ladies of the best and longest standing,
reflected severely ON her conduct The
younger men, of course, admired her, but l
think she got her chief support from old
fogies like ourselves. For it is your quiet,
self-conceited, compliment, philosophic,
broad waisted pater-familias who, after all,